Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many instances his Department's procurement department sought further information from a company on potential corruption, bribery or fraud in the last two years.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) routinely carries out checks on potential contractors prior to contract award, including on criminal activity, such as convictions for tax evasion, bribery or fraud, and a review of a company's audited accounts. These enquiries are conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011.
This process is reiterated in all competitive and single source tender documentation issued to tenderers prior to any contract award.
Any suspicion of corruption is reported to the appropriate authority. Where justified, the MOD can exclude potential suppliers who pose an unacceptable risk to public money.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 98 of the de Silva Report of the Patrick Finucane Review, published in December 2012, what the reasons were for the medical discharge of Brian Nelson from the Army.
Answered by Mark Francois
Brian Nelson's personal file states that he was discharged from the Army on medical grounds in 1970 suffering from duodenal ulcers.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the de Silva Report of the Patrick Finucane Review, published in December 2012, whether any Home Office guidance on the recruitment of agents was followed by his Department for the recruitment of Brian Nelson as an agent.
Answered by Mark Francois
Sir Desmond de Silva's report indicates (page 90) that there was no relevant Home Office guidance in force at the time.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 99 of the de Silva Report of the Patrick Finucane Review, published in December 2012, whether his Department had a role in (a) recruiting and (b) deploying Brian Nelson as an informant; and what the seniority of the officials from his Department involved was.
Answered by Mark Francois
There is no evidence to suggest that any official from the Ministry of Defence - as opposed to members of the Army - was aware at the time of Mr Nelson's recruitment as an Army informant, nor would this have been expected.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the de Silva Report of the Patrick Finucane Review, published in December 2012, what information his Department holds on where Brian Nelson served his criminal sentence.
Answered by Mark Francois
While the locations at which Mr Nelson served his sentence are not within the responsibilities of the Ministry of Defence, the Department's records indicate that he served the sentence he received in 1973 at HMP Maze, and that for his conviction in 1990 he served the first part of his sentence at Crumlin Road Prison, Belfast before transferring to HMP Usk in South Wales.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether information made available to Desmond de Silva QC for his report on the Patrick Finucane Review included information on Brian Nelson's discharge from the army and his subsequent recruitment and deployment as an army intelligence agent.
Answered by Mark Francois
Sir Desmond de Silva was provided with all available information relating to Brian Nelson's recruitment and deployment as an army intelligence agent. He did not seek information from the Government relating to Nelson's earlier discharge from the Army.